FORT LUPTON, Colo. — Rep. Lauren Boebert argued her case Thursday in the first Republican primary debate for the district she switched to last month, facing off against opponents who have already attacked her with accusations of being a "carpetbagger."
The congresswoman is running in the 4th Congressional District (CD-4), which spans Colorado's eastern plains, over fears she could have lost reelection for the seat she currently holds on the state's western slope. Colorado's congressional representatives do not have to live in the district they represent, only the state, though Boebert has said she will move to the area.
Nine candidates took the stage Thursday night. Notably absent were Mariel Bailey, who dropped out of the race, and longshot candidate Justin Schrieber, who is facing felony charges including stalking and harassment.
Former State Senator Jerry Sonnenberg was the first to peg Boebert as an outsider, saying in his introduction that he was raised in the same house that his father was raised in, and that CD-4 needs to be represented by someone who is from the area. Notably, Boebert introduced herself as the newest resident of CD-4.
Overwhelmingly, candidates said their most important issue was closing the southern border and addressing illegal immigration.
When asked if the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, only Boebert and self-proclaimed MAGA King Trent Leisy raised their hands.
When asked who they would vote for, for president, all candidates but one answered Trump. Candidate Chris Phelen said he would vote for whoever is on the ballot. He said if that's Trump, Phelen would vote for him.
All candidates agreed to support term limits, but answers on how many terms they would limit to varied. None of the candidates agreed that the Colorado Republican Party should take sides in primaries.
When asked who each would vote for if they were not running, they all gave answers except former talk radio host Deborah Flora. No one answered Boebert.
The question that garnered most applause tonight was whether any of the candidates had been arrested. Six out of the nine candidates raised their hands, which was met with jokes and applause from the crowd.
Those who raised their hands were Boebert, Leisy, former state House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, Phelen, Sonnenberg, and state Rep. Richard Holtorf.
Lynch resigned as minority leader this week after his 2022 DUI arrest became public.
"We need people that understand people. We need people that are human and make mistakes," Lynch said.
"I will tell you that I have been arrested twice and every time it was for fighting because someone needed a little attitude adjustment," Holtorf said.
"My arrest was just a simple traffic violation that was unpaid," Boebert said.
That is not fully accurate. She also had an altercation with law enforcement at a country music festival.
Leisy was previously convicted of harassment.
The most significant split among candidates was on a question about a federal abortion ban. Five candidates do not support a federal ban: Peter Yu, Leisy, Holtorf, Lynch and Phelen. The four who do are Boebert, Flora, Sonnenberg and former state Sen. Ted Harvey.
With control of the House hanging in the balance, Republicans and Democrats are wrestling fiercely over every close race. That includes the 3rd District, which was considered solidly GOP-leaning but became seen as a toss-up for this year after Boebert won there by only 546 votes in 2022.
Political experts generally agree that Republicans have a better chance of holding on to the 3rd District without Boebert in the race, a reason she cited for her decision to switch. The GOP has a bigger advantage over Democrats in the 4th.
In her new electoral stomping grounds, Boebert must rely on her national name and convince voters that her voice is needed in Congress more than those of her homegrown opponents, some of whom have lived in the district their entire lives and represent parts of it in Colorado's Legislature.
Her rivals include Holtorf, the Republican whip in the Colorado House; Lynch, the former House minority leader who stepped down Wednesday after a 2022 arrest for drunken driving came to light; and Sonnenberg, a former state senator well known in the region.
When candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, Flora asked Boebert about 2022 critique of Kerry Donovan, a Democrat, who was going to run for CO-3 until redistricting put Donovan outside of the district.
"I have been very clear that this is a fresh start for my family and for myself. I am a resident of Weld County and in the 4th District," Boebert said.
When it was Lynch's turn to ask a question, he said he was going to ask Sonnenberg a question but because Boebert made a quip about his gun rights (Lynch is on probation and not allowed to carry a gun until June), he instead asked her to define "carpetbagger."
"So, yes, I have moved into the 4th District. My boys and I needed a fresh start. That's been very public of what the home life looked like," Boebert said.
Boebert built her household name with a combative political style that turned otherwise tame moments in Congress into slugfests, along with hardline conservative stances and unwavering loyalty to former President Donald Trump.
That is expected to be a boon for her in the 4th District, which voted for Trump by nearly 20 percentage points in 2020, more than double the margin in the 3rd.
Her primary rivals are not cowing before her national reputation. Instead, they are accusing her of joining the so-called political swamp in a bid to keep her place in Congress.
Some have pointed to an embarrassing episode last year when Boebert was caught on video vaping and groping with a date in a Denver theater. That scandal won't be easy to shake in the 4th District, where voters hold tight to conservative Christian values.
The district is in the western edge of the Great Plains, home to small farming and cattle ranching towns, with a segment of the population in a more urban area just south of Denver.
"This is not the same district that it was before redistricting. It is 73% suburban. I will fight like the dickens for every single person in this district, but we will lose this seat in two, four, six of eight years if we do not realize that the creep coming down from Denver into Douglas County will determine this seat," Flora said.
Before she switched districts, Boebert had been expected to face a rematch against Democrat Adam Frisch, whom she barely beat two years ago and who had already far out-fundraised her this year.
9NEWS contributed to this report.
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